THING OF THE WEEK

MAYORS… Andy Burnham’s speech in Manchester this week was delivered in front of a packed hall at the People’s History Museum. Media was consigned to the back of the room with the front row reserved for the future PM’s former mayoral colleagues. Before the main man arrived, the mayors of various areas – although notably not Hull and East Yorkshire, Tees Valley, or Greater Lincolnshire – gathered around for a selfie, taken by West Yorkshire’s Tracy Brabin. It was giving teenagers at a K-Pop concert vibes. They all looked delighted to be there, buzzing around with a renewed sense of optimism at the prospect of one of their own making it big. And who can blame them? If Burnham, who could be Prime Minister in a matter of weeks, delivers on his turbocharged devolution agenda, the mayors and their areas can expect an exciting few years ahead.

Haberdash your way over to Fred Aldous’ new store. Credit: Merve Sehirli Nasir on Unsplash

HABERDASHING… A vacant three-storey building in Liverpool is in line to be converted into the fourth outlet for the Manchester-founded arts and crafts store Fred Aldous. With shops in Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield already operational, Fred Aldous has targeted Liverpool for its next store; specifically, the 4,300 sq ft former Basement Advisory Centre on Parr Street, which is fantastic news for scouse creatives and haberdashers.

The Cupola Room looking resplendent. Credit: via Manchester City Council

ALL THAT GLITTERS… A milestone has been reached in the MC Construction-led refurbishment of Manchester’s Heaton Hall, with the building’s chandeliers returned to their glittering best following a rewiring programme as part of the refurb. Specialist Brotheridge Chandeliers was engaged, with the Trotter brothers mercifully not invited to tender. The grade one-listed hall, centrepiece of Heaton Park, has been closed to visitors since summer 2025, while the Orangery building has been closed since 2012.

The rewiring started in November last year and required a room-by-room plan to encase and protect various works of art and furniture items. The hall will be future-proofed with improved wi-fi and data infrastructure, while exterior spotlights have been installed. All is on track for the building to reopen to visitors later this year.

He made it. Credit: via Paul Richards

FINISHED… For those wondering, Stockport Council deputy director Paul Richards has completed his mammoth 1,000-mile cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats and he is very much alive. After 11 days and 90 hours in the saddle, Richards reached the conclusion many of us arrived at before he pulled on the Lycra: “All seems a bit of a faff just to have your photo taken with two signs!” At the time of writing, he has raised well over £6,000 for Moya Cole Hospice and Signpost for Carers. Chapeau, Paul.

Credit: via Knight Frank

SAUNA… If your place of work had a sauna, would you use it? Instinctively, it feels as if there is something a little weird about stripping off and getting hot and sweaty with the people you share a building with. But on the other hand, what a great way to get to know people you have worked alongside for years without ever learning their names. Let’s call it an icebreaker, or perhaps an ice melter.

A relaxing pre-, post-, or mid-work sauna is now a very real possibility for existing and future tenants at TriOffice’s Blossom – the office formerly known as 55 Spring Gardens – following a refurb. Has the office market’s ‘flight to quality’ finally gone too far or is it just the beginning of a new frontier of amenity-rich workspace? Whatever next?